Not true. Woe is me is the entire 20th century Chinese worldview. It is taught to this day to Chinese in China. It's all about opium wars and 200 years of humiliation etc...
Chang, who was American, came to identify and spout the woe is me dogma more and more. Her most recent book about Chinese in America was a total woe is me book. It was all about Chinese being discriminated against in America. It was dull and not comprehensive.
Liberalism is a mental disease and it is too bad. I saw her work and potential and was so disapointed to see her fall in to the typical lefty liberal view of oppressed minority eternal victim mind set in her writing.
You're right about her 'chinese in america' book. I kept expecting to see her perspective shift on chinese progress and prospects, but even as she wrote about the 80s and beyond, it was all victicrat bullshit. Unbelievable!
Nevertheless, she was very talented and for the most part I enjoyed her books. Really surprising she'd commit suicide. (On the other hand, ultra-liberal as she was, maybe the election had something to do with it--if only it wasn't her, but Michael Moore instead).
RE: It was all about Chinese being discriminated against in America. It was dull and not comprehensive.
Good observation. I also note with interest that she is lionized over at the pan Sinic, Bush hating, anti Western Asiawind "Our World" forum. She was also, apparently, at least peripherally part of the whole Bay Area Leftist ethnic identity circle. Not to say she personally was a Leftist, that I do not know, but she was socially engaged with the NGO crowd around these parts. Much more investigation needs to be done. For example, was she despondent due to Bush' victory?
I have to reluctantly agree. Even as far back as her promotion of "The Rape of Nanking" she was asserting that the event (and Japanese war crimes generally) had been underplayed for years, for almost conspiratorial reasons. This was so even though some years earlier Arnold Brackman had published a book about the Tokyo War Crimes trials (which, in fairness she cited) that, IIRC, devoted an entire chapter to Nanjing.
btt